Benefits and Side Effects of Iron-Folate Tablet Supplementation among the Female Adolescent Garment Workers

Abstract

Introduction: Among adolescent girls, iron deficiency is not uncommon due to various factors. During this period, iron deficiency anemia can greatly impact various factors of daily life, and additional iron supplementation might be needed. Aim of the Study: The aim of the study was to observe the benefits and side effects of iron folate tablet supplementation in adolescent women garments workers. Methods: This cross-sectional observational and descriptive study was conducted with the female adolescent garment workers of one garment factory located in the Narayangonj district. The data collection for the study was done in a very short period of time, from the 1st week of April to the 2nd week of July 2002, which led to a small sample size of 188 adolescent female workers. Result: Among the participants, 98.40% were Muslim, over half the participants were unmarried, 46.28% had been illiterate, and 51.06% had education up to class 1-3, Among the 81 married cases, 45.68% had husbands who received education from class 1-5, 48.94% had 2- 5 family member, 46.81% had 6-9 family members, and 4.26% had 10-12 family members. The financial characteristics of the participants revealed that 35.11% had 1500-3000 monthly income, 58.51% of the participants had 3-5 earning members, and 40.96% had only 1-2 earning member’s Per capita income was between 286-600 for 34.57% of participants, between 601-1000 for 53.19% participants. It was observed that in 3rd week, 43.62% had good health, 28.72% had increased work performance, and 13.83% had been free from sickness. By 4th week, 38.83% had good health, 25.00% had increased work performance and 10.11% had been free from sickness, which was true for the following weeks as well. In terms of side effects, anorexia, constipation, black stool, and vomiting were observed, with the highest frequency in 4th week of iron supplementation. Conclusion: The study observed that socio-demographic factors had no effect on the acceptance or reluctance ...